New Exhibit in the NSC Gallery

Allan J. Mathison taught art for 33 years in Morris Area High School, and also for the University of Minnesota, Morris. On a part time basis, he also ran an art framing business, a sign painting business as well as painting and selling his art work. Allan moved to Northfield in 2001, and since then has had more time and has gained new perspectives which have taken his painting in new directions.
In a statement about his painting, Allan writes,
“Having lived on the prairie for most of my life, I have found my encounters with wooded areas both a treat to my eyes and a gift to my soul, so it is only natural that when searching for subjects to paint I find myself painting what delights my eyes and soul. Since I am more concerned about the spirit and mood of the painting than the actual realistic representation, I use the techniques, composition, and colors that I feel will give the woods such qualities as silence, joy, and pride… Dance, symphony, melody, conversation are a few of the words that are used in my titles as part of an experience that one might have when encountering the colors, smells, sounds and winds in the woods. To me the woods are always moving like the strokes of an artist’s brush — twisting, turning, leaning.”